Poker-based wagering game for multiple players

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and apparatus for providing, operating, hosting and conducting wagering games for at least two participating players including distributing randomly generated playing cards to form a partial hand of at least four playing cards for each of the participating players, providing a community group of at least three playing cards, conducting one or more wagering events until the values of at least three of the playing cards in the community group are known to the participating players, determining the winner of the game as one of either the participating player remaining if no other players continue as participating players in the game or the participating player achieving a final hand of the highest poker rank when compared with the final hands of the participating players, transferring a portion of the wagers received to a game host, and transferring the remaining portion of the wagers received to the determined winner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/454,912 which was filed Mar. 21, 2011, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/473,113 which was filed Apr. 7,2011, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to systems and methods of providing, hosting,conducting and modifying wagering games, and in particular, theinvention relates to a modified poker game, played with one or moreconventional decks of 52 playing cards.

2. Description of the Related Art

Poker has enjoyed an increase in popularity in recent years, and avariety of modified poker games have arisen to provide players withdesired levels of action, complexity, and ease of play.

Texas Hold'em is a very popular variety of community card poker. InTexas Hold'em, each player receives two pocket cards. A round of bettingoccurs after the pocket cards are dealt, followed by the display ofthree community cards, called the “flop.” A second round of bettingoccurs, followed by the display of a fourth community card, called the“turn,” or “fourth street.” A third round of betting then occurs,followed by the display of a fifth community card, called the “river” or“fifth street.” A final round of betting occurs, after which the playersdetermine the winner, in a process called the “showdown.” The winner isthe player among the players remaining in the game who has the highestranked hand formed from any of the player's pocket cards and thecommunity cards. The winner receives all the accumulated bets in thepot. Since there are two pocket cards available to each player, and onlyfive community cards, it is likely that the highest ranked hand willutilize pocket cards, and the chances for a tie hand are relatively lessthan in a game with fewer pocket cards and more community cards.Additionally, since a full hand of five cards is available after thefirst round of betting, players will be likely to fold if they fail tomake a ranked hand when the first three community cards are dealt.

Poker games involving players competing against one another, such asTexas Hold'em, are often played in casinos in designated “poker rooms.”The casino typically allows players to play without charge, and oftenmakes money by taking a cut of the pot, called the “rake.” The rake canbe taken on a timed basis, but is often taken as a percentage of the potat the end of each hand.

Some poker-based games have been modified to be “casino games” in whichplayers do not compete against one another but rather compete againstthe house, that is, a dealer hand or otherwise place wagers on whetheran outcome will be achieved based on the cards that the dealer deals toform the player's respective hand.

Players seek new and interesting wagering games to play, whether onlineor at a casino, while casino operators, both physical and virtual, wishto attract players to their establishments or websites by providingplayers with opportunities to play new and interesting wagering games.Accordingly, there is continual interest in new and interesting wageringgames.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is generally directed to systems, methods and apparatusfor providing, operating, hosting and conducting wagering games for atleast two participating players including distributing randomlygenerated playing cards to form a partial hand of at least four playingcards for each of the participating players, providing a community groupof at least three playing cards, conducting one or more wagering eventsuntil the values of at least three of the playing cards in the communitygroup are known to the participating players, determining the winner ofthe game as one of either the participating player remaining if no otherplayers continue as participating players in the game or theparticipating player achieving a final hand of the highest poker rankwhen compared with the final hands of the participating players,transferring a portion of the wagers received to a game host, andtransferring the remaining portion of the wagers received to thedetermined winner.

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of hosting awagering game for at least two participating players at a gaming table,comprising the steps of: providing a set of randomly-ordered physicalplaying cards; receiving an ante wager from each of the participatingplayers; distributing cards from the set of randomly-ordered physicalplaying cards to form a partial hand of at least four playing cards foreach of the participating players, wherein the cards are distributedface down so that each participating player is unable to view thepartial hands distributed to any other participating players; providinga community group of at least three playing cards from the set ofrandomly-ordered physical playing cards, wherein the cards in thecommunity group are provided face down so that the values of the playingcards remain unknown to the participating players; conducting one ormore wagering events until the values of at least three of the playingcards in the community group are known to the participating players, thewagering events including revealing the value of a playing card from thecommunity group, and providing an opportunity for each participatingplayer to enter an optional wager, wherein upon receiving the optionalwager from any of the participating players, the wager becomes mandatoryrequiring receiving matching wagers from all participating playersthereafter to continue as participating player in the game and toprevent forfeiting all of the player's respective prior wagers;determining the winner of the game as one of either the participatingplayer remaining if no other players continue as participating playersin the game or the participating player achieving a final hand of thehighest poker rank when compared with the final hands of theparticipating players, wherein each of the participating player's finalhands are formed from the cards in the participating player's partialhand and the at least three known community cards; transferring aportion of the wagers received for a game host; and transferring theremaining portion of the wagers received to the determined winner of thegame.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned method further comprisesdistributing cards from the set of randomly-ordered physical playingcards to form a partial hand of five playing cards for each of theparticipating players.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned method further comprisesproviding a community group of five playing cards from the set ofrandomly-ordered physical playing cards.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned method further comprises thestep of discarding two cards.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned method further comprisesconducting three wagering events until the values of three of theplaying cards in the community group are known to the participatingplayers.

In some embodiments, each of the wagering events include revealing thevalue of a single playing card from the community group.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned method further comprises thestep of conducting an initial wagering event subsequent to the step ofdistributing cards from the set of randomly-ordered physical playingcards to form a partial hand of at least four playing cards for each ofthe participating players and prior to revealing the value of a playingcard from the community group.

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a computer-facilitatedmethod of operating a wagering game for at least two participatingplayers, comprising the steps of: receiving an ante wager from each ofthe participating players using a player interface; randomly generatingvirtual playing cards to form a partial hand of at least four playingcards for each of the participating players, wherein the cards in eachof the partial hands are viewable only at the respective playerinterfaces of the participating players associated with the partialhands; providing a randomly generated community group of at least threevirtual playing cards, wherein the values of the playing cards in thecommunity group are not displayed to the participating players;conducting one or more wagering events until the values of at leastthree of the playing cards in the community group are displayed to theparticipating players, the wagering events including displaying thevalue of a playing card from the community group, and providing anopportunity for each participating player to enter an optional wager,wherein upon receiving the optional wager from any of the participatingplayers, the wager becomes mandatory requiring receiving matching wagersfrom all participating players thereafter to continue as participatingplayer in the game and to prevent forfeiting all of the player'srespective prior wagers; determining the winner of the game as one ofeither the participating player remaining if no other players continueas participating players in the game or the participating playerachieving a final hand of the highest poker rank when compared with thefinal hands of the participating players, wherein each of theparticipating player's final hands are formed from the cards in theparticipating player's partial hand and the at least three knowncommunity cards; transferring a portion of the wagers received to a gamehost; and transferring the remaining portion of the wagers received tothe determined winner of the game.

In some embodiments of the aforementioned computer-facilitated method,the partial hand includes five playing cards for each of theparticipating players.

In some embodiments of the aforementioned computer-facilitated method,the community group includes three virtual playing cards.

In some embodiments of the aforementioned computer-facilitated method,each of the wagering events include displaying the value of a singleplaying card from the community group.

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a system for providinga wagering game associated with the underlying game of Blackjack,comprising: means for randomly generating playing cards to form partialhands of at least four cards for each participating player and acommunity group of at least three playing cards; a processor configuredfor (i) conducting one or more wagering events until the values of atleast three of the playing cards in the community group are revealed tothe participating players, the wagering events including revealing thevalue of a playing card from the community group, and providing anopportunity for each participating player to enter an optional wager,wherein upon receiving the optional wager from any of the participatingplayers, the wager becomes mandatory requiring receiving matching wagersfrom all participating players thereafter to continue as participatingplayer in the game and to prevent forfeiting all of the player'srespective prior wagers; (ii) determining the winner of the game as oneof either the participating player remaining if no other playerscontinue as participating players in the game or the participatingplayer achieving a final hand of the highest poker rank when comparedwith the final hands of the participating players, wherein each of theparticipating player's final hands are formed from the cards in theparticipating player's partial hand and the at least three knowncommunity cards; and a communication device configured for: (i)transmitting the values of playing cards revealed in the game toparticipating players; and (ii) facilitating the transfer of a portionof the wagers received to the determined winner of the game.

Depending on the embodiment of the invention, for randomly generatingplaying cards to form partial hands of at least four cards for eachparticipating player and a community group of at least three playingcards may be a processor, random number generator, software, physicalplaying cards, a shuffling device, or involve combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the communication device may be a data input and/ordata output device or a remote computer terminal, such as a homecomputer or mobile device with access to local or global network. Thesystem and communication device may be configured for providing theassociated wagering game to players via an online system or theInternet. The processor may also be remotely located from thecommunication device.

In some embodiments, the system further includes a display device incommunication with the communication device and configured fordisplaying the values of playing cards revealed in the game. Thecommunication device, processor and display device may be mounted withina unitary housing, and the aforementioned system may be an electronicgaming machine or electronic platform including multiple data inputdevices providing player positions.

Some embodiments of the invention are also directed to a machinereadable media for providing a wagering game that includes code and/ordata segments as necessary to provide and enable any of the methodsdescribed herein on hardware or any one or more gaming machines.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a process flow chart depicting an exemplary embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of exemplary system components configuredfor use with methods according to some embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The exemplary embodiments herein relate to wagering games. It should beunderstood that each of the methods and individual steps recited hereinmay be partially or wholly carried out in a variety of ways and/orsystems, which may include, but are not limited to, a live dealerphysically dealing playing cards in a casino, an electronic gamingmachine (EGM) or kiosk for one or more players in which a live dealerdeals randomly ordered cards or random virtual cards are providedthrough a program which may include a random number generator,standalone multiplayer platforms which may include a player interfacesuch as a touchscreen display and a physical or virtual playing cards,through a home computer or portable computing device, such as a tabletcomputer or mobile phone capable of communicating with a network or overthe Internet, global telecommunication network or world wide web.

FIG. 1 provides an embodiment of a method of providing, operating,hosting and/or conducting a wagering game generally referred to by thereference numeral 10.

In step 12, an ante wager is received from each participating playerrelating to the wagering game of this embodiment. In this embodiment,the ante wager is mandatory. However, in other embodiments, the antewager placed in step 12 may be optional or an ante wager may only berequired of some participating players, such as the “big blind” and“small blind” ante wagers often used in Texas Hold'em.

In step 14, randomly generated playing cards are distributed to formpartial hands for each participating player. As mentioned above, theplaying cards may be randomly generated via dealing from one or morerandomly ordered decks of playing cards, via a shuffling device orvirtually by cards randomly generated via a random number generator,depending on the embodiment of the invention. The initial hand mayinclude at least three cards, with either all, none or some of the cardsbeing viewable to all players. In this embodiment the initial hand foreach participating player is composed of five cards which are dealt facedown so that the cards are only viewable to the respective participatingplayer associated with the partial hand.

In step 16, randomly generated playing cards are provided to form acommunity group of cards of unknown value. The community group of cardsmay include at least two cards, the values of which are not immediatelymade viewable to the participating players. In this embodiment, thecommunity group of cards is five cards, with two cards being discarded,leaving three cards to be revealed. It should be readily apparent thatthe provision of cards for the community group may be completedsimultaneously or staggered so that each card forming the communitygroup is provided successively as needed, while still ultimatelyproviding the same amount of cards for the community group.

As shown by step 18, a plurality of wagering events are conducted untilat least three cards in the community group are revealed. Each wageringevent may include revealing the value of one or more playing cards fromthe community group and then providing an opportunity for eachparticipating player to enter an optional wager. In this embodiment asingle card is revealed during each wagering event. If an optional wageris received by a participating player, then that optional wager becomesa mandatory wager, and at least a matching wager must be received fromany of the remaining participating players. If in addition to matchingthe wager, a participating player submits a raise, it will be consideredin the same manner as the optional wager described herein, in that theraise or optional wager becomes a mandatory wager to all otherparticipating players. If a mandatory wager is not received from aparticipating player, that participating player will no longer be aparticipating player in the game and forfeit any wagers placed during awagering event and the ante wager received in step 12. The wageringevents of step 18 therefore allow each participating player to place acheck (i.e., place no wager), wager, call (i.e., match a prior wager),raise (i.e., match a prior wager and then place another wager) orforfeit.

In step 20, the winner of the game is determined as one of either theparticipating player remaining, if no other players continue asparticipating players in the game, or the participating player achievinga final hand of the highest poker rank when compared with the finalhands of the participating players. In this embodiment, each of theparticipating player's final hands are formed from all of the cards inthe participating player's partial hand and the at least three knowncommunity cards.

In other embodiments, the final hands may constitute a portion of thecards in the partial hand and a portion of the cards in the communitygroup as selected by the player to form the highest ranked poker handpossible. Alternatively, the final hands may constitute all of the cardsin the partial hand and a portion of the cards in the community group asselected by the player to form the highest ranked poker hand possible,or the final hands may constitute a portion of the cards in the partialhand and all of the cards in the community group as selected by theplayer to form the highest ranked poker hand possible.

In step 22, a portion of the wagers received are transferred to a gamehost. The portion transferred may be a preset amount provided by theparticipating players or taken from all of the wagers received in thegame, including the ante wager and any wagers placed during wageringevents. Alternatively, the portion transferred may be a set percentageof all of the wagers received.

In step 24, the remaining portion of all of the wagers received istransferred to the participating player determined to be the winner ofthe game.

An exemplary embodiment based on the method 10 and configured inaccordance with the invention includes the steps of providing a“pre-flop” event consisting of receiving an ante wager and dealing fiveface-down hole cards for each participating player; a “flop” eventconsisting of dealing one face up card as a community card; a “turn”event consisting of dealing one face up card as a community card; a“river” event consisting of dealing one face up card as a communitycard; wherein each of the flop, turn and river events further involve anopportunity for each player to wager, call, raise or forfeit the game;determining the winner of the game, wherein the winner is either theplayer with the highest poker rank achieved from the player's hole cardsand the three community cards or the player that has not forfeited thegame during a wagering round; and transferring at least a portion of thewagers received to the determined winner.

In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a casino gameversion in which the player competes against a house or dealer hand. Inthis embodiment, the player must place a first or ante wager in order toparticipate in the game. Randomly generated cards are dealt to formpartial hands for each participating player and the dealer. The playerviews the partial hand and may optionally place a second wager which isreceived by the house.

In some embodiments, the second wager is required, in that the playerforfeits the game if the second wager is not placed. In otherembodiments, the player may stay in the game but not place the secondwager. In some embodiments, the second wager may be equal or a multipleof the first wager.

Randomly generated cards are then provided to form a group of communitycards, which may differ or be equal in number to the amount of cards inthe partial hand. Each player's final hand is formed from theirrespective partial hand and the group of community cards. Thus, the rankof each player's final hand is the highest poker rank possible from thecards in their respective partial hand and the group of community cards.Likewise, the dealer's final hand is formed from the dealer's partialhand and the group of community cards, and the highest rank possiblefrom those cards is compared with the player's final hand. When thedealer's final hand outranks the player's final hand, the player losesany wagers placed. When the player's final hand outranks the dealer'sfinal hand, the player wins the game. In some embodiments, winningplayers are awarded an amount equal to the first and the second wagercombined.

In some embodiments of the casino game version, the dealer must qualifywith a particular final hand rank in order for the game to continue. Forexample, in one embodiment, when the dealer's final hand rank is lessthan a preset hand rank, the player will lose all or a portion of thefirst and/or second wagers. In other embodiments, when the dealer'sfinal hand rank is less than a preset rank, the player and dealer push,that is, the player receives their first and/or second wager backwithout a loss or award.

In some embodiments of the casino game version, the partial hand andgroup of community cards equal a preset number of total cards, such aseight cards. For example, the partial hand may be four cards and thecommunity cards may be four cards, or the partial hand may be five cardsand the group of community cards consists of three cards.

In some embodiments of the casino game version, the partial hand andgroup of community cards equal a preset total amount of cards, with thepartial hand and group of community cards having the same number ofcards each, but a portion of the group of community cards are discardedto equal the preset total amount of cards. For example, if the presettotal amount of cards is eight, and the partial hand size is five cards,then five cards will be dealt to form the group of community cards buttwo of those cards will be discarded or burned. In some embodiments, thetwo cards are used in connection with a side wager. In some embodiments,the cards are discarded randomly, while in other embodiments, the firstcards dealt are discarded or the cards are discarded based on their rankor number.

In some embodiments of the casino game version, the group of communitycards are not revealed all at once. In some embodiments a first portionof the group of community cards is revealed and players may then placethe second wager. Additional or the remaining portion of cards may thenbe revealed and more wagers placed or the game outcome determined.

In some embodiments of the casino game version, players may place a sidewager that their final hand will achieve at least a preset ranking. Theaward for the side wager if won may be set forth in an odds-basedpaytable listing ranks and corresponding payout amounts, which may beexpressed as a multiple of the side wager, or through a standardprogressive meter which accumulates through an increment from each sidewager. In some embodiments, players may place a side wager that theirpartial hand, the dealer's hand or the group of community cards, eitherall or only the non-discarded community cards, will achieve at least apreset ranking. In such embodiments, the award for the side wager if wonmay also be set forth in an odds-based paytable listing poker ranks andcorresponding payout amounts, which may be expressed as a multiple ofthe side wager, or through a progressive meter. In some embodiments,placing a side wager is mandatory.

In some embodiments of the casino game version, the invention isdirected to a method of conducting a poker-based game comprising thesteps of: receiving a first wager from each player; dealing eachparticipating player and the dealer a partial hand; dealing a group ofcommunity cards; discarding a portion of the group of community cards;revealing a portion less than all of the remaining community cards tothe players; receiving a second wager from the players, wherein anyplayer not placing the second wager forfeits the game; revealing theremaining community cards to the players; determining each player'sfinal hand rank based on the cards in the player's partial hand andcommunity cards; determining the dealer's final hand rank based on thedealer's partial hand and community cards; and paying the player anaward if the player's final hand outranks the dealer's final hand.

In some embodiments of the casino game version, the invention isdirected to a method of conducting a poker-based game comprising thesteps of: receiving a first wager from each player; dealing eachparticipating player and the dealer a partial hand of five cards;receiving a second wager from the players, wherein any player notplacing the second wager forfeits the game; dealing a group of fivecommunity cards; discarding two cards of the group of five communitycards; revealing one or more, or all of the remaining community cards tothe players; receiving a third wager from the players, wherein placingthe third wager is optional; revealing the remaining community cards ifany to the players; determining each player's final hand rank based onthe cards in the player's partial hand and community cards; determiningthe dealer's final hand rank based on the dealer's partial hand andcommunity cards; and paying the player an award if the player's finalhand outranks the dealer's final hand.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system 50 constructed in accordance withsome embodiments of the invention. System 50 includes processing device68 in communication with a database or memory device 70, communicationor data input/output device 72 and a display device 74. In someembodiments, display device 74 is a touch-enabled device and includes adata input device component. Display device 74 may also display virtualrepresentations of cards, chips, a felt gaming table and/or dealers andplayers. Memory device 70 may include data relating to embodiments ofthe invention as described herein. A player position 76 is displayed ondisplay device 74 along with virtual representation of a layout andwagering area 78 for transmitting wagers in accordance with any of theembodiments herein, such as method 10. Game outcomes are displayed andwagers are tracked using display device 74 and processing device 68.Processing device 68 compares the hands and determined the winner. Gameinformation and wagers transferred via device 72, or indicated ondisplay device 74, or both. System 50 may be incorporated in a gamingmachine housing or in a multiple player platform.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the methodsdescribed herein may be incorporated in a system in accordance with theinvention using virtual representations of Blackjack table layouts. Thesystem of the invention may include various computer and network relatedsoftware and hardware, such as programs, operating systems, memorystorage devices, data input/output devices, data processors, serverswith links to data communication systems, wireless or otherwise, anddata transceiving terminals, and may be a standalone device orincorporated in another platform, such as a mobile device. The system ofthe invention may be provided on electronic platforms with multipleplayer positions. In addition, the system of the invention may beprovided at least in part on a personal computing device, such as homecomputer, laptop or mobile computing device through an onlinecommunication connection or connection with the Internet. Those skilledin the art will further appreciate that the precise types of softwareand hardware used are not vital to the full implementation of themethods of the invention so long as players and operators thereof areprovided with useful access thereto or the opportunity to play the gameas described herein.

While exemplary systems and methods, and applications of methods of theinvention, have been described herein, it should also be understood thatthe foregoing is only illustrative of a few particular embodiments withexemplary and/or preferred features, as well as principles of theinvention, and that various modifications can be made by those skilledin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.Therefore, the described embodiments should not be considered aslimiting of the scope of the invention in any way. Accordingly, theinvention embraces alternatives, modifications and variations which fallwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claimsand equivalents thereto.

1. A method of hosting a wagering game for at least two participatingplayers at a gaming table, the method comprising the steps of: providinga set of randomly-ordered physical playing cards; receiving an antewager from each of the participating players; distributing cards fromthe set of randomly-ordered physical playing cards to form a partialhand of at least four playing cards for each of the participatingplayers, wherein the cards are distributed face down so that eachparticipating player is unable to view the partial hands distributed toany other participating players; providing a community group of at leastthree playing cards from the set of randomly-ordered physical playingcards, wherein the cards in the community group are provided face downso that the values of the playing cards remain unknown to theparticipating players; conducting one or more wagering events until thevalues of at least three of the playing cards in the community group areknown to the participating players, the wagering events includingrevealing the value of a playing card from the community group, andproviding an opportunity for each participating player to enter anoptional wager, wherein upon receiving the optional wager from any ofthe participating players, the wager becomes mandatory requiringreceiving matching wagers from all participating players thereafter tocontinue as participating player in the game and to prevent forfeitingall of the player's respective prior wagers; determining the winner ofthe game as one of either the participating player remaining if no otherplayers continue as participating players in the game or theparticipating player achieving a final hand of the highest poker rankwhen compared with the final hands of the participating players, whereineach of the participating player's final hands are formed from the cardsin the participating player's partial hand and the at least three knowncommunity cards; transferring a portion of the wagers received to a gamehost; and transferring the remaining portion of the wagers received tothe determined winner of the game.
 2. A method according to claim 1,wherein the step of distributing cards from the set of randomly-orderedphysical playing cards to form a partial hand of at least four playingcards for each of the participating players further comprisesdistributing cards from the set of randomly-ordered physical playingcards to form a partial hand of five playing cards for each of theparticipating players.
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein thestep of providing a community group of at least three playing cards fromthe set of randomly-ordered physical playing cards further comprisesproviding a community group of five playing cards from the set ofrandomly-ordered physical playing cards.
 4. A method according to claim3, further comprising the step of discarding two cards.
 5. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the step of conducting one or morewagering events until the values of at least three of the playing cardsin the community group are known to the participating players furthercomprises conducting three wagering events until the values of three ofthe playing cards in the community group are known to the participatingplayers.
 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein each of the wageringevents include revealing the value of a single playing card from thecommunity group.
 7. A method according to claim 1, further comprisingthe step of conducting an initial wagering event subsequent to the stepof distributing cards from the set of randomly-ordered physical playingcards to form a partial hand of at least four playing cards for each ofthe participating players and prior to revealing the value of a playingcard from the community group.
 8. A computer-facilitated method ofoperating a wagering game for at least two participating players, themethod comprising the steps of: receiving an ante wager from each of theparticipating players using a player interface; randomly generatingvirtual playing cards to form a partial hand of at least four playingcards for each of the participating players, wherein the cards in eachof the partial hands are viewable only at the respective playerinterfaces of the participating players associated with the partialhands; providing a randomly generated community group of at least threevirtual playing cards, wherein the values of the playing cards in thecommunity group are not displayed to the participating players;conducting one or more wagering events until the values of at leastthree of the playing cards in the community group are displayed to theparticipating players, the wagering events including displaying thevalue of a playing card from the community group, and providing anopportunity for each participating player to enter an optional wager,wherein upon receiving the optional wager from any of the participatingplayers, the wager becomes mandatory requiring receiving matching wagersfrom all participating players thereafter to continue as participatingplayer in the game and to prevent forfeiting all of the player'srespective prior wagers; determining the winner of the game as one ofeither the participating player remaining if no other players continueas participating players in the game or the participating playerachieving a final hand of the highest poker rank when compared with thefinal hands of the participating players, wherein each of theparticipating player's final hands are formed from the cards in theparticipating player's partial hand and the at least three knowncommunity cards; transferring a portion of the wagers received to a gamehost; and transferring the remaining portion of the wagers received tothe determined winner of the game.
 9. A computer-facilitated methodaccording to claim 8, wherein the partial hand includes five playingcards for each of the participating players.
 10. A computer-facilitatedmethod according to claim 8, wherein the community group includes threevirtual playing cards.
 11. A computer-facilitated method according toclaim 8, wherein each of the wagering events include displaying thevalue of a single playing card from the community group.
 12. A systemfor providing a wagering game associated with the underlying game ofBlackjack, comprising: a) means for randomly generating playing cards toform partial hands of at least four cards for each participating playerand a community group of at least three playing cards; b) a processorconfigured for: (i) conducting one or more wagering events until thevalues of at least three of the playing cards in the community group arerevealed to the participating players, the wagering events includingrevealing the value of a playing card from the community group, andproviding an opportunity for each participating player to enter anoptional wager, wherein upon receiving the optional wager from any ofthe participating players, the wager becomes mandatory requiringreceiving matching wagers from all participating players thereafter tocontinue as participating player in the game and to prevent forfeitingall of the player's respective prior wagers; (ii) determining the winnerof the game as one of either the participating player remaining if noother players continue as participating players in the game or theparticipating player achieving a final hand of the highest poker rankwhen compared with the final hands of the participating players, whereineach of the participating player's final hands are formed from the cardsin the participating player's partial hand and the at least three knowncommunity cards; c) a communication device configured for: (i)transmitting the values of playing cards revealed in the game toparticipating players; and (ii) facilitating the transfer of a portionof the wagers received to the determined winner of the game.
 13. Asystem as recited in claim 12, wherein means for randomly generating arandom initial hand of playing cards in the underlying game comprises arandom number generator.
 14. A system as recited in claim 12, whereinmeans for generating a random initial hand of playing cards in theunderlying game is at least one deck of randomly ordered playing cards.15. A system as recited in claim 12, further comprising a display devicein communication with the communication device and configured fordisplaying the values of playing cards revealed in the game.
 16. Asystem according to claim 15, wherein the processor is remotely locatedfrom the display device.
 17. A system as recited in claim 12, whereinthe communication device and processor are mounted in a unitary housing.18. A system according to claim 12, wherein the processor is remotelylocated from the communication device.